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soap. I also gave each one a loaf or two, a large tin of bully beef cut into chunks, tins of condensed milk and hard-tack biscuits. All of this was quite irregular, of course.
After a few days we were back at sea. We were carrying about a dozen European nurses who were being repatriated. All were emaciated. They were placed under strict medical supervision, and the crew was warned under penalty not to give them food, which might very well have killed them in their state. We found them all kinds of clothing. Some of the men had acquired various articles of female attire as presents for wives and girlfriends on return to Britain. These items were pooled without a quibble. On our way back to Australia, all high explosives and other articles of war were disposed of in deep water.
Upon our arrival in Sydney, I left HMS Indomitable for the last time with deepest regret. For me, she was a happy ship, an aircraft carrier, a warship, but a happy ship.
The above information, in note form, was supplied to me for compilation by Mr. Davidson, through his stepbrother, ex-Company Sergeant Major McLaren. Mr. Davidson's own wording has been retained where possible. [Phrases with pejorative overtones have been edited — Editor].
Dan Waters